THIS WEEK'S MATCHUPS

• The University of Colorado Colorado Springs women's lacrosse team begins the second half of their conference schedule and will play two mid-week games on the road this week, beginning with Tuesday's matchup at No. 5 Regis University, and Thursday's contest at Colorado State University Pueblo.  Tuesday's action will get underway at 5 p.m. while Thursday's first draw will start at 4 p.m. 

 
GAME COVERAGE

• Live Stats: https://gomountainlions.com/coverage
• Live Stream: https://rmacnetwork.com/gomountainlions/

 
LAST TIME OUT

• UCCS won a decisive battle at Fort Lewis College Friday afternoon as sophomore goalie Madison McGriff and senior midfielder Natalie Church reached career milestones in a 20-6 win. Both teams battled back and forth in the opening quarter, combining for nine goals and 18 shots with the Mountain Lions edging FLC after the first 15 minutes of action, 5-4.  Leading 12-4 at halftime, Hannah Mill chalked up her fourth score of the game just 38 seconds into the second half.  FLC's Rebecca Kiyokawa stopped the 12-0 UCCS scoring spree and broke a 27-minute scoreless drought for the Skyhawks.  Olivia Evans highlighted the scoring run with a free-position goal at 8:07 in the fourth quarter and chipped in the next two goals for a natural hat trick.
• UCCS scored seven free-position goals with Church netting a game high two.  She led both teams with five goals and two assists.  Mill, who finished with four goals and two assists, matched Church's game high eight shot attempts.  Mill also accounted for two of the Mountain Lions' three caused turnovers. Julia Patrick, Morgan Miller and Meghan Weiss each picked up a team high two ground balls. Evans' hat trick was the first of her career. McGriff played all 60 minutes in goal, making nine saves. UCCS bested Fort Lewis in shots (34-23), shots on goal (27-25) and saves (9-7) while FLC edged the Mountain Lions in ground balls, 11-10.

 
RMAC RECORD/STANDINGS

• Regis has sole possession of first place in the league standings for the second straight week.  The Rangers are undefeated at 10-0 overall and 5-0 in the RMAC.
• One spot ahead of UCCS in the standings is Colorado Mesa in second place (7-4, 5-1 RMAC) followed by the Mountain Lions in third place (6-4, 3-2 RMAC).
• One game separates Fort Lewis and Westminster for the fourth spot in the standings.  The Skyhawks are 3-7 on the season and 3-3 in RMAC games, one game ahead of the Griffins in the fifth slot (2-7, 2-4 RMAC).

 
THE SERIES

• Vs. RU: Regis has won all seven meetings against the Mountain Lions since the series began in 2017.
• Vs. CSUP: The Mountain Lions and ThunderWolves are tied at 3-3 in the all-time series lead.  UCCS has won the last three games, including earlier this season on March 29 in a 19-8 home win.

 
SCOUTING THE RANGERS

• Regis University enters this week ranked No. 5 and are undefeated in 10 games (5-0 RMAC).  Tuesday's match against the Mountain Lions will be their seventh game at home this season at Regis Lacrosse Field.
• Graduate student Kyleigh Peoples is one of four Rangers to have scored at least 20 goals this season.  Peoples leads Regis with 31 goals and is second with 12 assists for 43 points.  She is second in the conference in goals per game (3.10) and points per game (4.30).  Assisting on a team high 18 goals is junior attacker Gabby Rothermund who has also netted seven goals.  Leading the defense is Sarah Kate Dhom with a team high 16 caused turnovers and 17 ground balls, while sophomore goalie Elizabeth Myotte has a league best 48.7 saves percentage to go with her 5.07 goals against average in nine games.  Freshman goalkeeper Brigit Goetsch has played in all 10 games in goal this season and owns a 44.4 saves percentage and a 7.4 goals against average in 367 minutes between the posts.
• The Rangers have scored 34 free position goals this season and are averaging nearly 16 goals per game while only allowing 6.5 per game.  Regis is averaging 15.6 draws and 20.1 ground balls per game while their opponents are tallying 10.5 draws and 15.1 ground balls per game.

 
SCOUTING THE THUNDERWOLVES

• Colorado State Pueblo earned their first win of the season on April 3 against Adams State University, 25-1.  Colorado Mesa University nearly reversed the score on the Pack this past Friday, defeating CSUP 21-1 for their eighth loss of the season.  The ThunderWolves are 1-8 this season and 1-3 when playing on their home turf.
• Senior attacker Ashley Hendricks and junior midfielder Caira Lessick tag team the offense with 20 and 14 goals, respectively.  Hendricks leads the team with 22 points and 45 shots, while sophomore midfielder Baylee Mee has won a team high 45 draws.  Defensively, freshman Vivian Reukauf has picked up 20 ground balls and caused a team high 13 turnovers.  Defending the goal is sophomore Annika Ponse who has played all by 60 minutes in goal.  Ponse is 1-8 in goal with a 15.72 goals against average and a 42.5 save percentage.
• The Pack are scoring an average of 9.00 goals per game but are getting outscored by 6.3 goals per game.  CSUP has a .731 shots on goal percentage and are 19-of-50 on free-position attempts.

 
HOT TAKES

• The Mountain Lions lead the league and are ranked 11^th nationally in assists per game (8.33).  UCCS is second in Division II in ground balls per game and first in the RMAC, picking up 25.2 ground balls per game, while leading the RMAC in points per game (22.11).
• UCCS is scoring the second most goals in the league (13.8 per game) while allowing the second fewest goals (10.2). 
• McGriff became the all-time saves leader, surpassing Kenney Travis' 191 saves.  After Friday's game, McGriff has 193 career saves.
• On Friday, Church overtook Vanessa Nelson's top career mark of 174 shots on goal and now has 180 shots on goal.  She also reached the 300-mark for draw controls.  Her nine draws at FLC are the second most ever won in a game.
• The 20 goals scored against FLC are the most this season and the most goals scored since last year's season-opener against Westminster College on March 5, 2021 (W, 20-11).  The 20 goals are also the third most ever scored in a game in program history.
• Friday's seven free-position goals at Fort Lewis ties the program record for most scored in a game.  Seven of UCCS' goals against Westminster on March 5, 2021 were also free position goals.
• Church is the all-time program leader in points (182), goals (107), assists (75), free-position goals (29) and draws (304).
• Angela Naughton is one of the top offensive weapons in program history, ranking in the top five in the career record books.  She is second all-time in free-position goals (21), and fourth in points (113), goals (75), assists (38), shots (186) and shots on goal (130).
• Church's 21 assists and 2.33 assists per game leads all RMAC players.  She is second in the league in points (36), points per game (4.00) and ground balls per game (2.78).
• McGriff is one of the top goalies in the RMAC, ranking second in GAA (10.30) and save percentage (.457), third in saves (69), and fifth in saves per game (7.67).
• Mill's 6.80 shots and 5.00 shots on goal per game are tops in the RMAC.

 
AWARD WINNERS

• McGriff won her second RMAC Defensive Player of the Week award on April 11 after helping the Mountain Lions secure a 20-6 win at Fort Lewis on April 8.  She made nine saves and posted a 6.00 goals against average while improving to 6-4 in goal this season. 
• Julia Patrick and Morgan Miller swept the RMAC Player of the Week awards on April 4 after leading UCCS to a 2-1 home record. led the Mountain Lions offense with 16 points behind 11 goals and 5 assists.  Patrick registered 11 goals, five assists (16 points), 20 shots and 15 shots on goal to go with four draws and 13 ground balls against CSUP, WC and CMU.  Miller held down the defense for UCCS, securing 11 ground balls and causing eight turnovers on the week.
• Hannah Mill had a career day as she led the Mountain Lions to a 19-1 home win over Hendrix College on March 23, earning her the RMAC Offensive Player of the Week honoree.  In just her second game in a Mountain Lions uniform, Mill set a program record for most assists in a game as she finished with six.  Mill added two goals to bring her game total to eight points, the second most points ever recorded by a Mountain Lion in program history. 
• Church and McGriff were named the RMAC Players of the Week on March 14 after the Mountain Lions returned home from a split in St. Joseph, Mo. against No. 10 Grand Valley State (L, 8-7) and Missouri Western State (W, 14-7).   Church finished the week with four goals and six assists for 10 points, along with five shots, 10 draws, three caused turnovers and three ground balls. In the process, she became the all-time leader in goals scored, and set a new single game record for most assists in a game (five vs. MWSU).  McGriff finished the week with 18 saves, 12 goals allowed and a 6.43 goals against average. 

 
UCCS UNDER HEAD COACH MELISSA RAUSCH

• Melissa Rausch begins her third year with the UCCS Mountain Lions women's lacrosse program, and her first season as the head coach in 2022.  As an assistant coach the past two years, she served as the recruiting coordinator, handling the recruiting efforts, hosting clinics and working with the scholarship budget.
• On the field, Rausch works with both offensive and defensive units.  Her primary focus is on the defensive end of the field.  After installing a new defense in 2021, the Mountain Lions decreased their opponents' efforts in goals against, shots, shot percentage, and shots on goal.

• Rausch, who joined UCCS from Nichols College, a Division III institution in Dudley, Mass., held the roles as Assistant Athletic Director, Head Women's Lacrosse Coach, and Assistant Men's Lacrosse Coach at Nichols College.

 
WEATHER

• The weather in Denver for Tuesday's match will be blistery under partly cloudy skies and showers developing later in the day.  Temperatures will be in the high 50's with winds out of the West at 10-20 mph and could occasionally gust over 40 mph.
• Thursday's forecast is more favorable in Pueblo, with temperatures reaching the low 60's under sunny skies.  Winds will be coming out the West-Southwest at 10-20mph.

  
UPCOMING GAMES

• UCCS will return to Mountain Lion Stadium next weekend for their final home games of the regular season.  The Mountain Lions are slated to take on Adams State on Friday, April 22 at 1 p.m., followed by Senior Day on Sunday, April 24 against Fort Lewis College at 11 a.m.

 
SOCIAL

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As a member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs competes in 16 varsity sports in NCAA Division II intercollegiate athletics.